Can my Macbook have an instance of all my data AND have the data on the cloud? Or, I just want to backup to Icloud, I don't want to have to access the cloud to do ANYTHING I currently do on my Mac.
MacBook Pro 15″, macOS 10.15
if you are storing your documents and data on iCloud Drive, these items will be mirrored on your Mac as well. This is the default. Only, if you enable the option "optimise Mac Storage", iCloud may remove some of the local copies to save local storage, when you are low on storage on your Mac. But normally, your documents will be in iCloud and on your Mac as well. And will sync to all your other iCloud devices and keep the documents and data on all your devices identical.
But if you want a backup of your documents and data, iCloud will not suffice. The problem ist the syncing. The documents and data will always be identical to the copies on your Mac. If you accidentally delete items permanently, you will not be able to recover them from iCloud. They will have been removed from iCloud as well. iCloud will give you the added security of an offsite storage, however. If your house burns down with all your backup disks, or devices get stolen, you can recover your data from iCloud. But iCloud does not protect you against user errors. You need an additional backup.
if you are storing your documents and data on iCloud Drive, these items will be mirrored on your Mac as well. This is the default. Only, if you enable the option "optimise Mac Storage", iCloud may remove some of the local copies to save local storage, when you are low on storage on your Mac. But normally, your documents will be in iCloud and on your Mac as well. And will sync to all your other iCloud devices and keep the documents and data on all your devices identical.
But if you want a backup of your documents and data, iCloud will not suffice. The problem ist the syncing. The documents and data will always be identical to the copies on your Mac. If you accidentally delete items permanently, you will not be able to recover them from iCloud. They will have been removed from iCloud as well. iCloud will give you the added security of an offsite storage, however. If your house burns down with all your backup disks, or devices get stolen, you can recover your data from iCloud. But iCloud does not protect you against user errors. You need an additional backup.
So, if Time Machine is working I should have yesterday's copy on my Mac and today's copy on the cloud, right?
I'm thinking that there is really a low risk of data loss unless, like you said, the house burns down.
I want my data on my Mac AND on Icloud, can do
